Artificial Romance
by RockDiva
Summary: Only based on the characters of the movie. A hero chick flick premise starring Tallulah and Carl. Strongly inspired by the Spiderman trilogy.
1. Trailer

**Author Note**

This is my first ever au-ish fanfiction!! Basically, those who have read what I've posted so far in my fanfiction _The First Date_, know that Artificial Romance is the chick flick that supposedly is Franny's, Billie's, Tallulah's, and possibly Carl's favorite movie. Well, after writing that, this here would just not leave me alone! And since I'm a shipper of Tallulah and Carl, I thought that this could make for a cute au-ish story. I might keep some of the original premises of the movie, such as Tallulah being into fashion, and Carl being built by Cornelius (maybe) but for the most part it will be nothing like most of the things I write. And to celebrate my first ever fanfiction to completely drift away from the original boundaries of the show or movie I'm writing for, I thought I would also include my first ever trailer since this is supposed to be like a movie anyways! Since this is my first trailer, I hope that it's not too hard to follow. Basically, **bold** is voiceover. _Italics_ is the supposed to be audible lyrics to the music playing in the background towards the end of the trailer. And plain text is dialogue or action.

Credit to Avril Lavigne for the song. One of my favorite songs. (I personally prefer the radio edit)

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****In The Year 2037, A New Hero Will Ari****se…**

"Look out!"

The camera zooms in to show a giant octopus-like machine rampaging through the city. It stops and picks up the mayor's daughter as she screams.

"Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to abduct the mayor's daughter?"

A robot flies about so quickly that he is unseen by human eyes, tying up the robot and grabbing the mayor's daughter. He sets her down safely and she turns to thank her mysterious rescuer but he is already gone.

The scene cross fades and the camera zooms in on a news broadcaster.

"More and more reports are coming in so it looks like we could indeed have a new hero in our midst. Now the mayor is offering a 100,000 dollar reward for the identity of who folks are calling the Midnight Mirage."

The camera fades into Tallulah and Carl standing outside of a shop that has televisions in the window.

"With that money, I could quit my job as a sleazy reporter and invest in my fashion dream. I'm going to get that reward money, Carl."

Scene fades to Carl talking to Jacoby in the privacy of Jacoby's shop.

"So, you're the Midnight Mirage. But why do you want me to make you a disguise? Why not let the world know who you are?"

"I'm just a robot, Jacoby, not a hero."

"And yet you continue to save people on a regular basis. It sounds to me like you can't even convince yourself of that."

"When a person is in trouble I can't just stand by and do nothing!"

"Neither can a true hero. But I suppose every hero _does_ have an alter ego so I'll see what I can do."

**A New Hero Will Battle The Forces of Evil…**

Camera shows a dark figure pinning Tallulah to the side of a building by her neck.

"I will take over your measly planet and turn every one of you puny humans into my slaves."

"Not on my watch. Now let her go!"

Carl runs to attack the villain but he disappears in a cloud of smoke, but is still heard from a distance:

"You haven't seen the last of me."

The camera pans to Carl who is wearing a human disguise.

"Are you alright, Miss…"

"My name is Tallulah Robinson. But my friends call me Lula. You're the Midnight Mirage aren't you?"

"I guess so. But you can call me whatever you like."

"It's funny but I feel like I've known you forever."

"Something tells me you're the kind of girl I would like to know forever…"

Tallulah smiles and blushes as the scene fades.

**But Every Hero Knows That Saving The World Comes With Sacrifice…**

The music changes to more ominous music as the camera zooms in on a note that Carl has pulled off his door:

"You're no mere human. I will find out the truth, and once I do…I will destroy you and everything you care about."

The scene fades to Tallulah and Carl -not in his disguise- standing by a park fountain, snow falling softly around them.

"We can never be together, Tallulah. Please, don't make this harder than it already is!"

"Why? Because you're a robot?! I don't care. I've always loved you, and I thought that you might love me."

"You can't understand."

"I can't understand unless you tell me."

"And I can't tell you."

The camera shows Carl walking away, Tallulah blurry behind him, and then zooms in on Tallulah's face to show the tears running down her cheeks as the wind blows through her hair.

**This Fall, One Hero Will Show The World What Love Really Is...**

_You were everything, everything that I wanted _(shows Tallulah and Carl running around throwing leaves at each other in a park)

_We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it _(shows Tallulah struggling to hang on to the side of a building before slipping off)

_And all of the memories__, so close to me, just fade away _(shows Tallulah throwing a picture of her and Carl aside and then fades into Carl looking through a video camera at Tallulah as she's reporting)

_All this time you were pretending _(Carl takes off the top part of his disguise and throws it at a wall)

_So much for my happy ending _(Carl, flying, accelerates to catch Tallulah as she is falling)

**Artificial Romance**

"A thousand lives mean nothing if I live them all without her."

**Coming This October to Fan Fiction (dot) Net**


	2. Chapter 1

**Author Note**

Opening night is here!!  
I had wanted to post this at seven p.m. but I was literally watching Spider-Man 2 on t.v. (how appropriate!) and I always get completely engulfed whenever I watch that movie :D  
When writing this chapter, I faced another first in my writing. I've never ever introduced something using the flashback method...so please bear with me if it's not done too well.  
Also, I came across something I never noticed in the movie until I actually had to think about it...Carl (correct me if I'm wrong) never sits down. He's always shown stnading! Oh well, it's my story and he can sit :)  
Secondly, Jones is an overtly obvious reference to J. Jonah Jameson from Spider-Man...and believe me, there are definitely more references where that came from :P  
Finally, I apologize if this chapter seems short and/or dull. There's really not any action as I just wanted this chapter to serve as a detailed introduction into the lives of the two main characters as I have them in this fiction, their relationship at this point, and a few other things.  
I hope it's enjoyable.**

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**Chapter I**

_"I hate it here! You've ruined my life!" fifteen year old Tallulah Robinson yelled at her parents and ran outside. Her parents had moved themselves, her and her brother into her famous inventor cousin's house. For Tallulah it meant another place where she would have to face ridicule all over again for the fact that her mother was a puppet. As she ran, she wasn't watching where she was going, and so she didn't see the robot that also seemed to be in a hurry. _

_Wham! They ran into one another. "I'm so sorry," the robot spoke perfectly, causing Tallulah a bit of alarm. _

_"You can talk?" _

_"I have artificial intelligence. It gives me humanlike capabilities," he answered. "You've never seen a talking robot before?" _

_"No. So, you're one of my cousin's inventions?" _

_"My name's Carl." _

_"You have a name too? You really are human like. Oh, not that I mean any, you know, offense or anything. My name's Tallulah." _

_"Cornelius told us you'd be staying here for now on, so welcome, Tallulah. I hope you like it here." _

_"I highly doubt it. Unless all of my old friends move here too than I don't think I'll ever like this place," Tallulah said overdramatically. _

_"I'm sorry that you miss your friends," the genuineness in his tone caused Tallulah to stop feeling sorry for herself for a moment. _

_"To be honest, I really didn't have any true friends. They hung out with me, but at the end of the day I was still the weird girl with a puppet for a mom. It'll be the same here too, she sighed. _

_"I'll be your friend." _

_"What?" the offer had taken her off guard. _

_"You seem like a nice girl worth knowing. But I understand if me being a robot…" _

_"No!" Tallulah shocked herself with the force of how she said it. "I mean, no I didn't mean that I didn't want to be your friend. I don't care if you're a robot. I do want to be your friend. I need at least one reason to like it here." _

Tallulah pulled herself away from her memories and took a sip from her cheap cup of coffee. She looked around the very humble-in fact, homely-diner and then out the window. It was drizzling, making the scene a rather gloomy one. "Maybe I had a good thing going and didn't even realize it," she half chuckled, half sighed at the comforts of her old home that she was now missing out on because she had chosen to move to the city. Tallulah was headstrong and independent and had decided she wanted to make her own place in life without the luxuries of her cousin Cornelius's money. Her mother was okay with such things, but not Tallulah. She was determined to pursue her fashion dream even if it meant toughing it out as a sleazy reporter in order to make end's meat to invest in her dream.

The door to the diner opened, letting in a burst of unseasonably cold air. Tallulah hugged her arms and shivered slightly. Suddenly, she felt something being draped over her shoulders. "I thought you might be cold," the voice was warm and familiar and Tallulah watched as Carl sat down across from her.

"You know me too well don't you, Carl?" Tallulah slipped into the jacket graciously.

"Luckily for you, I saw the weather and somehow knew that you hadn't been smart enough to grab a jacket."

"Hey, now! Am I supposed to thank you or resent you?"

"Okay, okay. I meant I knew you'd be too stubborn to grab a jacket."

"Well, that's true. I don't look good in jackets," Tallulah said semi-vainly. "Bt thank you," she pulled the jacket tighter, crossing her arms to make it hold.

"That's why I'm around," Carl answered. In a sense, it really was Carl's duty to watch after Tallulah. Cornelius and his wife Franny had always treated Tallulah practically as if she were their own daughter and so were naturally concerned when she had first announced her plans to move out on her own. They knew that she and Carl had become close friends and so they asked him to try and check up on her at least once a week. It was easy at first but soon she began to suspect that she was being babysat and not just visited by an old friend. So when Tallulah applied for a reporting job and landed it under the condition that she find her own cameraman, Carl immediately volunteered. It gave him a way to keep an eye on her. As he thought about it, he knew deep down that it was more than just a duty to him. When Tallulah had told him her decision to move to the city first, he had almost fried his system with worry. And he had determined to make sure she stayed okay before Franny or Cornelius even approached him on the matter.

The truth was, he'd grown fond. Fond of all the things that made Tallulah who she was. He enjoyed seeing her smile and making her laugh. Even now, he was humored at the sight of Tallulah pretending to enjoy her obviously cheap and lousy cup of coffee. She was something special and unique. Carl hadn't yet dared to imagine himself actually in love with Tallulah, but he couldn't deny that there were times when she occupied his mind more than that of just a casual friend.

"What are you staring at?" Tallulah broke his deep train of thought.

"I was just thinking, uh, how much you must really hate that cup of coffee. You look like you're trying too hard to enjoy it."

"As always, you know me best. It's not the best cup of coffee in the world, but it'll do the job. So did you get the message from Jones?"

"No, I didn't. What does he want us to do this time?" Carl didn't care much for their lousy editor-in-chief. All Jones ever wanted was a headline, and the more twisted they were, the happier he was.

"Well, two things actually. One, he wants us to get the dirt on the new mayor's family. Apparently, he thinks that they have scandal written all over them. Second, he wants us to do so while also catching their 'good' side first at this Saturday's Campaign To End Poverty rally downtown _before_ exposing their dirty laundry," Tallulah answered, cringing as she did.

"He is the most underhanded, scheming-est, two-timing…"

"I know. He makes my skin crawl too. But he's paying us more than usual for this one, so common sense beats conscience this time. I'm just glad he never lets anyone but himself take credit for anything."

"Unless it backfires," Carl pointed out. "Remember poor Simon?"

"He still can't get a job anywhere reporting. Jones practically blacklisted him right out of the business altogether," Tallulah felt sorry for the reporter who had followed Jones instructions but ended up publishing information that put Jones' reputation on the line. Jones had shifted the blame to Simon and had him publicly disgraced. "That's why we can't let that happen to us. Simon followed Jones blindly. We just have to keep our eyes sharp for anything that could land us in that same position."

"I'm amazed at how dedicated to this you've become," Carl said bluntly.

"This job beats working in a lousy food joint like this one, so I'm going to keep it until I have enough money set aside to finally pursue my dream to become a fashion designer."

"At least you're not giving up," Carl admired her determination.

"Well, like you said, I'm stubborn. So let's get snooping," Tallulah stood up, left some change on the table, and headed for the door. As she got to the door, she stopped and started to remove her jacket before being seen in it outside of the diner.

However, Carl stopped her by placing his hand on her arm. "You know, it's hard to keep sharp eyes if you're sick." Tallulah mocked a huff, but then smiled and decided Carl was right. "Besides," he added softly after she had already exited, "you look good in anything."


	3. Chapter 2

**Author Note**

Okay, so this is the latest (or in other words, earliest...) that I've ever posted a new chapter, but I really wanted to get this posted.  
More Spider-Man likeness, but I added a little bit of Incredibles homage in this chapter.  
And as inspired by Robin, I've decided to base the use of a new primary chip on the same concept of the primary chip in Inspector Gadget. Plus, it makes for an alternative to the whole freak accidents that usually occur in superhero stories and all.  
I'm not used to doing action sequences, so you might find the one in this chapter a little awkward in writing. But I promise I'll try to improve my action writing before the final climax!  
Jacoby is taken from the video game, but I've expanded his role here, making him actually someone who works with Cornelius.  
I also thought that Cornelius deserved a university named after him :)**

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**Chapter II**

"I'm telling you Jones. I've talked to countless sources. There is no story here," Tallulah said as she plopped down a notebook filled with notes down on her editor's desk. "The first lady is the chairman of four of the biggest charities in the city."

"Well, maybe she's more wrapped up in her charitable work than her home life. How about that angle?" Jones was always testy when his reporters challenged him.

"Tried it. She balances her professional with her personal so well that it practically puts anyone else who tries to shame. She definitely has her priorities straight."

"Don't they have a son in college? College plus boys equals some kind of mischief," Jones was fishing for anything.

"Their son is top of his class at my cousin's namesake, which happens to be one of the top universities in the country. He hasn't ever done a thing shameful."

"So you're telling me that he hasn't even broken a girl's heart by dropping her for the next new thing?"

Tallulah huffed and rolled her eyes. "Ignoring the degrading manner of that comment, no. He doesn't even have a girlfriend per say. He has a very close female acquaintance, but both of them have promised not to attempt an actual dating relationship until they are certain they are ready for the emotional responsibility that goes along with a serious relationship."

"That's just nonsense. I don't believe it," Jones argued, causing Carl-who was standing nearby looking on-to want to put him in his place with a swift blow.

"They have matching promise rings! And it's not nonsense. It's sweet and sensible. Face it. Dead ends everywhere," Tallulah plopped down dramatically in the seat in front of Jones' desk.

"What about the daughter?" Jones grumbled.

Tallulah gave Carl a nervous glance and then looked back at Jones who was eyeing her, awaiting an answer. "Well, that's the biggest dead end of all. None of her acquaintances will say a thing about her except for she's a nice girl or the friendliest girl you'll ever meet."

"And that's it?"

"I agree. It's very suspicious. It does seem like they're trying to hide something."

"So why are we still having this conversation?"

"Because!" Tallulah stood to her feet quickly. "I can't get any adequate evidence. I'm keeping my eyes open in case I catch a lucky break, but until then, I'm not going to make a story out of it."

"And when exactly did I die and make you editor of this place?" Jones also stood.

"Look, Jones. If you take credit for a story that I can't guarantee won't make you look bad, I can assure you that I won't go as silently as Simon did," Tallulah threatened, her voice never wavering. "I've never been one to depend on my family name, but you can be certain that people will believe a Robinson before they believe the likes of you."

"Alright, alright," Jones sat back down. "No need to get testy. Keep working on it, and make sure you get everything you can at that rally tomorrow."

"You've got it," Tallulah said nonchalantly as though nothing had just happened between them. She smiled coyly at Carl, who followed her out of the room.

"I think that was one of the most impressive things I've ever seen," the robot said as he caught up with Tallulah, who was walking with long, confident strides.

Suddenly, she stopped and looked at Carl seriously. "What just happened? It felt so, so…exhilarating." Carl just returned her comment with a curious look. She sighed, "Come on. I want to get as far away from here as possible."

----------

"Hey, Carl," Cornelius greeted the robot as he came into the lab that evening. There was no response from his metal friend and invention. "Long day?"

"I guess you could say that," Carl sighed.

"Jones again?"

"I absolutely despise working for that man," Carl grumbled.

"You know, you don't have to put up with him if you don't want to," Cornelius stopped what he was working on and faced Carl. "Maybe we should just learn to trust that Tallulah knows what she's doing and that she can handle herself."

"After today's events, there's no doubt in my mind that she can definitely handle herself."

"Is that so? What happened?" Cornelius was genuinely curious.

"Oh you should have seen her. She charged into Jones' office and told him that she refused to do a story that would put her neck on the line unless she finds substantial evidence. She held her own against everything Jones threw at her. It was amazing," there was a hint of more than mere admiration in Carl's voice. Cornelius hadn't missed Carl's tone and it caused him to look at him a little strangely. "What?" the robot was confused by his inventor's odd expression.

"Oh, uh, nothing. I was just as amazed as you I guess," Cornelius decided not to pursue the matter. "It sounds like she knew what she had to do and did it."

"I'll say. And you can bet Jones was just as surprised by her testiness. There were a few moments I thought that he might call in security to drag her out of there."

"Come on, Carl. We both know that you wouldn't have let anyone touch our Tallulah."

"That's another thing," Carl paused, causing Cornelius to wonder what the robot was about to reveal. "While it was happening, I wanted to step in and help her, but I realized that I just can't keep up. I guess that's kind of sad for a robot to say, isn't it?"

"Not at all. In fact, I was going to wait another week or so, but as long as we're talking about it, it's about time for an upgrade and tune up for you, Carl. I haven't given you any new working upgrades for at least a couple of years now. And just like any of my other inventions, you more than any deserve to stay current. There's no way I'm letting my best invention become obsolete."

"Yeah…I wouldn't want that to happen," the word 'obsolete' always made Carl a little nervous and he was glad that he had such a caring inventor who was determined to never let that happen as long as he was around. "So, anything interesting to look forward to?"

"Actually, the reason I was going to wait was because Jacoby and I have been collaborating on a new prototype primary chip for you. It'll have everything that your current primary chip has, including same memories and the same thoughts and emotions, but will be even more human like with also some added bells and whistles. Ever wanted to fly?"

"Fly?"

"Mmm-hmm. That's just one of the many new features you'll have," Cornelius answered.

"More lifelike…" the thought fascinated Carl more than any new abilities. The truth was, it was already hard at times being a robot with such obvious human traits, but if they were stronger, who knew what the result would be. Still, it was something he secretly longed for.

"We've been working on this for months, Carl, because you deserve the best. But I _am_ hesitant in allowing you to use it without a test run on the demo robot over at the company lab. He's programmed to respond to glitches, you're not. I don't want it to hurt you in any way," Cornelius said with an almost fatherly tone. "But I guess it is your decision. Maybe you could think it over a little, and let me know after dinner."

"Alright," Carl responded, already running it over in his mind. "Oh, speaking of dinner, I talked Tallulah into coming home for dinner next Friday."

"Really? That's wonderful. It's been awhile since she's visited. Good work, Carl."

"Yeah, it is wonderful. Um, I'm pretty certain I'm up to experimenting with that new primary chip," Carl knew that the sooner he had it the better.

"I had a feeling you'd say that. But we're going to backup your system and current primary chip to make sure we don't risk permanent damage should any glitches occur. I can also have Laszlo run over to the company lab and make a copy of the glitches chip that we use for the demo robot. We're not taking any chances," Cornelius finished.

"Thanks," Carl was grateful for the precautionary actions that Cornelius was taking.

"And another thing," Cornelius added, "the minute you feel that something's off, I want you to alert me or Jacoby immediately. Understood?"

"Understood."

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"Who knew so many people would show up," Tallulah shouted over the sound of a famous band that was playing for the crowd.

"Must be the celebrity endorsement," Carl shouted back.

"Apparently. I guess we should start rolling on this," Tallulah quickly fixed her hair as Carl produced a video recording device from his robotic innards and pressed record. "I'm Tallulah Robinson and I'm coming to you live from the heart of downtown Todayland where the new mayor is hosting the Campaign to End Poverty rally. Exposé News usually brings you the latest hard hitting facts on Todayland's dirty little secrets, but today we thought we'd take time out to bring you the good side of humanity. As you can see behind me, the mayor has arranged for several celebrities who are rallying behind him in the campaign to make appearances on stage. The event will last until four p.m. at which time the mayor, himself, and his lovely family will…" the ground began to shake causing Tallulah to look around curiously, "…close the event…with…" she stopped all together, and looked up with an expression of mixed awe and horror.

Carl saw her expression, and quickly spun around with the camera and saw that there was a giant octopus-like machine rampaging through the city, heading in their direction. He spun back around to Tallulah to suggest that they run, but before he could, the rest of the crowd began to panic. Everyone began trampling to get away from the giant machine which occasionally shot lasers at anything in sight. "Tallulah, we need to get out of here!"

"What!?" she yelled, not able to hear him over the screams of several in the crowd.

"We need to…Tallulah!" Everyone was trampling around her, easily pushing her this way and that. Carl extended his arm in hope to catch on to her before it was too late, but before he could blink, she had disappeared into the crowd and he was now in a similar position as panicked folks shoved past him. "I need to find her…wait…the new primary chip! Alright, now how do I fly?" Unfortunately, neither he nor Cornelius had thought to do a test run of all the functionalities of the chip. All he knew was that Jacoby had come up with the idea that some portions of the chip should be operated from Carl's thoughts; much like a human brain sends pulses through the body to perform operations. And apparently, it wasn't responding. "Come on, come on, fly…" Carl closed his eyes in frustration, and when he opened them realized that he was about a hundred feet in the air. "What on…I'm flying. I'm actually flying." He realized that this flying capability was built into the bottoms of his feet. He looked at the giant machine that was terrorizing the town, and then scanned the crowd in search of Tallulah. Before he could find her, he felt himself being thrust against a building. He regained his composure and realized that it had been one of the long octopus-like arms of the machine. He looked and saw that the machine seemed to have its main laser, which Carl guessed acted as the machine's eyes, fixed on a specific point. "He's after someone or something in particular," Carl thought aloud. Suddenly, his eyes began to magnify everything in front of him until he could see all the way down the block to where he could clearly see the mayor and his family. "I've got to do something!" Carl looked around desperately. Without giving it anymore thought, he swooped down and easily lifted the nearest car. "Everybody, move!"

Everyone saw the car, but didn't see who was holding it. Without thinking twice, those who hadn't managed to scatter yet, picked up their pace. Tallulah, however, was still mystified. "Wow…where's Carl with the camera when you need him?" She then realized that the car was now being hurled in her direction-at the-machine and made her remember just how close she was to the monstrosity. She turned to run before seeing that the one who had thrown the car was Carl. Unfortunately, as she was running, the machine spun around quickly, and one of the legs hit Tallulah and sent her flying through the air until she crashed into a few people.

The machine caught the car and threw it back towards Carl and then returned to its line of pursuit. While Carl was managing to escape the path of the hurdling vehicle, the machine extended one of its arms and grabbed the mayor's daughter as she screamed a blood curdling scream that could be heard for blocks away. Carl flew as fast as he could, suddenly reaching hyper speed-a new function of the primary chip. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's rude to abduct the mayor's daughter?" Carl flew around so fast that no one could see him, tying up the monster's free legs, and grabbed the mayor's daughter when she flew up into the air as the machine lost control and came crashing to the ground with a destructive blow.

"Oh, thank you," the mayor's daughter said breathlessly as she felt the ground beneath her feet again. She turned quickly to see the hero that had been nothing but a blur to her, but he was already gone.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the mayor eventually tried to calm the crowd, "we have a hero in our midst. I want to thank whoever it was who saved my daughter."

The crowd began to regroup, trusting that the machine was destroyed and no longer a threat. Meanwhile, Carl attempted to find Tallulah again. His system nearly failed when he saw her sitting down on a curb, obviously in pain, a few bruises noticeable on her arms and legs. "Tallulah!" he hurried over to her. "I've been looking all over for you," although he hadn't really been looking all over, it was true that he had been worried about her.

"Well, here I am," she forced a smile as always. "That was the strangest thing I've ever seen. Even stranger than some of the things that's come out of Robinsons Industries."

"What happened?" Carl asked, ignoring her random small talk.

"Well, I was running when whoever it was threw that car, but the monster spun around and hit me with one of its legs. It threw me through the air and I landed over there," she pointed a few feet away, "on a few others who were running from the thing."

"Stupid, so called hero," Carl lashed out against himself. "He should have done something to protect you too."

"Please, Carl. As if I'm that important. He probably didn't even see it happen."

Carl knew that her words were true. He _had_ been too busy to notice it. "Well, then _I_ should have made sure that nothing happened to you. I'm sorry."

"Carl, it's okay. I'm fine. The guy that I landed on is hurt worse than I am. Besides, you couldn't help that we got separated by the mass panic. My biggest concern is that Jones is going to skin us alive-well, me alive-for not having any coverage of any of it. Ugh, there's no way I'm going to be able to talk my way out of this one," Tallulah sighed, dropping her head into her hands.

"I'll find a way to keep Jones happy," Carl said, wanting to make up for his not keeping Tallulah safe to begin with. "I promise."


	4. Chapter 3

**Author Note**

I'm so sorry I let this story slip as long as I did...well, all of my stories really, but it's been a chaotic two weeks.  
The main thing tht happened was the loss of my aunt. It was completely unexpected and even though it's been a little over a week since it happened, it still was hard for me to really get my mind back in the game I guess you could say. Still, my writing also did help a little in taking my mind off of it all.  
Either way though, I apologize if my mind being somewhat preoccupied affected this chapter for the worse. Everything happens that I planned on happening, but the focus might seem off. So, I'm sorry if it's confusing or anything of that nature. Just let me know if there's anything that doesn't make sense.  
The only note that I have is, in my mind (something I'll most likely explain later on) news corporations in the future are huge. Just like how now days newspapers and news channels have their own web editions as a new step in technology, in my story, in the future it's gone further. Like Expose News in my story has a newspaper, tabloid (magazine for more noble news establisments), news channel, etc. It's basically a monopoly :)  
Anyways, not much if any real action in this chapter.

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**Chapter III**

"Thank you so much for seeing me," Tallulah shook the mayor's daughter's hand. "I know that you enjoy your privacy."

"I suppose I'll just have to get used to the publicity," she sighed. "Being saved by a mysterious hero isn't something that keeps you on the down low."

"I suppose not," Tallulah said with a small laugh.

"Besides, your friend Carl here divulged that your boss wanted to get some dirt on me and said that the two of you would rather he not get the chance. That's very honest, and I commend you despite the hot water you know that it might land you in."

"Thank you," Tallulah faked a smile, eyeing Carl questioningly from the corner of her eye.

"And a good and honest deed deserves another in return," Mayor Stevenson's daughter continued. "Carl told me that if Expose News got the first interview of me about my ordeal at yesterday's rally, that I might just be able to keep the spotlight on me in a way that's not so displeasing and that you won't get into deep for not dishing any dirt on me."

"Well, yes, I mean, it's worth a try. Thank you, Miss Stevenson."

"Not a problem and please, call me Aelisa. I'd like for us to be friends."

"That'd be really nice," Tallulah said genuinely.

"Since I have a feeling I can trust you, both of you, I'll let you in on a secret. The reason why I've been trying to keep out of the public eye is because I'm not really the mayor's daughter."

"You're not?" Tallulah looked at Carl, both at a loss for words.

"No, I'm his niece. My uncle says my mom ran off and got married to some man that she had just met. He said about a year and a half later, he found me on their doorstep with only a letter in my mother's handwriting saying that she couldn't take care of me. But she never even came back to see me even once, so I guess she really meant that she didn't want me," by now there were a few tears in Aelisa's eyes.

"Now you don't know if that's really true," Carl felt inclined to cheer the poor girl.

Tallulah was a little startled by Carl's sudden kindness toward such a random stranger but realized that she should probably say something as well. "Carl's right. She might not have been able to make it back. But who knows, maybe she will someday. Do your uncle and aunt love you?"

"Well, yes, they always have said I'm like a daughter to them."

"Then take it from someone who knows. As long as you have someone who loves you, then that's all that matters. You see, I lived for a long time in my cousin's house, and even though I wasn't willing to live off of them, in a sense, it's my family that keeps me going because I know that no matter what I face out in the world, they love me, and that's all that's important to me. They may not always trust me," she shot a look at Carl, revealing that his suspicions about her suspicions had been correct, "but they will always love me."

"Thank you so much," she hugged Tallulah and then hugged Carl. Upon stepping back from her hug with Carl, she eyed the robot curiously. "So about that interview…"

"Right!" Tallulah had almost forgotten. "I'm just going to ask you a few questions. Okay, Carl, let's roll on this. For interview purposes, I'm going to address you as Miss Stevenson, okay? Okay. Miss Stevenson, can you tell me, what was it like when you first realized that you were the target of the beast?"

"Well, I didn't know that I was the actual target. I mean, it all just happened so fast that I didn't have time to think anything or feel anything but scared."

"Of course, and what was it like when you were suddenly rescued by the unknown hero?"

"Wow, I don't even know how to describe it. He was there and gone before I knew it and I was safe again."

"You're certain it was a he?"

"Most definitely. And this might sound strange, but it was almost as if he were a literal man of steel. I was only in his arms for a short time, but I could tell that he was extremely strong."

"Hmm…would you venture to say that maybe he was a robot or android or something of that sort?" Tallulah looked over to Carl and whispered 'no offense' while he had the camera zoomed in on Aelisa instead of herself.

"I suppose that it might be possible. But whoever it was, I don't know, but I could just sense that he had as real of a heart as any man. I'm not saying that robots or androids are unfeeling by any means. But whoever it was seemed very human," there was nothing but seriousness in Aelisa's voice.

"A hero with a heart," Tallulah quickly took Aelisa's words and made them more of a coined term. Neither of them noticed the nervous look on Carl's face.

--------

"You got in a little late last night," Cornelius hadn't seen the robot at all the night before, even though he hadn't called it a day until nearly midnight.

"Well, I, uh…it was quite a day, you know. With that beast that attacked the rally and all," Carl wasn't a very good liar.

"Relax, Carl. I'm not going to demand an explanation. I trust you. Besides, you're free to come and go as you please. You know that." Cornelius had granted Carl independence of being just a robot built for whatever purpose he asked, but Carl had never wandered.

"To be honest," Carl hesitated a little, "I was testing out all my new features. You didn't tell me you were going to install so many new gadgets when you…uh…shut down my system."

"Well, do you like them?"

"Well, yeah, but they definitely took some getting used to. I hate to say it, but the whole thoughts connected to the new primary chip didn't really respond until I got good and angry or frustrated or really just emotional period," Carl explained.

"Hmm, doesn't sound like an actual glitch, but maybe just a miscalculation in the program. Jacoby took full charge on most of the thought activation front, so I'd suggest talking to him about it. Is that the only thing that you've had problems with?"

"So far," the robot nodded.

"Good. I hope it stays that way. Still, I'd see Jacoby as soon as possible."

"I wanted to give him a visit anyways. I think I'll go see him after tomorrow's dilemma is cleared."

"What's happening tomorrow?" Cornelius asked.

"We didn't get any coverage of the rampage at the rally yesterday and Tallulah was afraid that Jones would have her head and her job first thing tomorrow morning. So today we managed to get an exclusive interview with the mayor's, uh, daughter as hopefully a way to keep Jones from blowing his top. We won't know if it'll quench his anger until tomorrow," Carl answered with detail, although leaving out what he and Tallulah now knew about Aelisa.

"Good plan and best of luck. Hopefully Tallulah will be able to handle herself again."

"Oh, she will. After all, like she said today, she has the love of her family to keep her going," Carl smiled at the sentiment.

"She said that? Well now, I guess you're right. Tallulah's one determined woman."

"Yes, she is."

--------

"Brilliant! I wanted to fire you yesterday, but today I could promote you if I knew it didn't mean forking over more money!" Jones said excitedly after viewing the interview.

"See, Carl, he likes it," Tallulah winked, and then mouthed 'thanks'.

"Like it!? I love it! You've just handed me the scandal I've been waiting for."

"Well, you know, I…wait, what?" Tallulah and Carl shared a quick glance of confusion between one another.

"Listen to the infatuation in her voice!! It's clear she's completely smitten with this hero person or thing. What better than a romantic entanglement involving the mayor's daughter?"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Tallulah had told Aelisa that she would try to help her, but even this was being twisted into a scandal. "Why can't we just leave it as it is and give the public the truth for once?"

"The truth? The truth? Is it the truth that folks read in stories? Watch in movies or on their televisions? People don't want the truth. They want juicy speculation. Leave the truth to a more noble news establishment."

"Jones you are so, so, so…ugh!" Tallulah was on the verge of lunging at him and Carl must have noticed because he placed a hand on her shoulder to hold her back.

"Don't push it," Jones growled, knowing that he had the upper hand this time around. "You're still both on a thin thread for not getting any footage Saturday. I had to pay triple rate to salvage some high quality pictures for our tabloid from some amateur photographer. The only reason you're getting lucky is because you had the insight to get the first interview with the girl."

"It's a good thing your name's going on it, Jones. Come on, Carl," Tallulah turned and left the room quickly.

"He is such a slimy, sneaky, despicable," Carl started to vent but felt that Tallulah wasn't even listening. "I guess it could have been worse," he tried to encourage her instead.

"I don't know how," Tallulah chuckled sarcastically. "Even losing my job here might have been a relief. Carl, I have to find a way to see Aelisa before any of this goes public. She thinks we're her friend."

"We are her friends. I agree. It's a good thing that she told us we could visit any time."

"I'll just let her know of Jones' plans. At this point, I don't even care if it costs me my job. I have to do the right thing," Tallulah said with true conviction for the first time in a long time.

"I'll be there with you every step of the…" Carl stopped and looked into the window of an electronics store. There were several televisions, all set on the news. They were built into the window and couldn't be seen, but there were speakers for passer-by's and potential customers to hear not only the televisions but advertisements from inside the store.

"What is it?" Tallulah also stopped and watched the television.

"There is a new mysterious force in Todayland. One, who for the past few nights, has been at the scene of numerous accidents, fires, and other emergencies all to offer his superhuman strength and super powers. More and more reports are coming in so it looks like we could indeed have a new hero in our midst. Now, the mayor is offering a 100,000 dollar reward for the identity of who folks are calling the Midnight Mirage."

"The Midnight Mirage…" Carl whispered inaudibly to himself.

"100,000 dollars!? With that money, why, I could quit my job as a sleazy reporter and invest in my fashion dream. I wouldn't have to worry about Jones or anything he wants me to do. I'm going to get that reward money, Carl. And maybe Aelisa can help me. I'm not talking blackmail, but she does owe me at least one favor for all the risks I'm taking, I mean, _we're_ taking to keep her name clear."

"Um, I, I told Jacoby I'd stop by so he could run a diagnostic on my primary chip," Carl fumbled quickly.

"Oh, okay. Well, this is more of a friend thing than a business thing so I won't need the camera or anything so go ahead. You deserve a day off after all the things you put up with me."

"Tallulah, I don't consider helping you as work," Carl wanted to make that point very clear. "We're friends, remember. I like helping you out."

"Oh, I know," Tallulah thought she felt a little bit of color going to her cheeks. "But even friends need a break from one another every now and then. But, uh, thanks again for bailing me out with this one. I owe you big time, especially if I really have found a new friend in Aelisa, than I owe you for that too," Tallulah didn't make it known to anyone, only Carl a few times very briefly, but she hated not having any friends besides him, not that she didn't think for one moment that he wasn't as good a friend as she could ever hope for in anyone else.

"I hope that you and Aelisa become very close," Carl offered genuinely, wanting more than anything for Tallulah to have another true confidant, not that he didn't enjoy being the only one she trusted in keeping her secrets.

"Thank you, Carl," she hugged him tightly; something she had done several times in the past when he had said something sweet or done something nice or when she just needed a hug. However, this time, they both secretly felt it was harder than it had ever been to break their embrace…something that confused them both deeply, but something that they weren't about to discuss with one another either.


	5. Chapter 4

**Author Note**

I let it slide for awhile again, but this time it was because of the Thanksgiving holiday...always a rush. I also will probably not be updating for another two weeks.  
Reasons: One, I have a 3 page paper due by the middle of this week and a 10 page paper due by the end of this week so I'm going to be too doggone tired to write anything else. And then, next starting next Sunday I'll be away from the computer for another week so there goes that. BUT, the following week is the last week of school for a whole month's worth of vacation so I'll definitely attempt to make up for lost time : )  
I just want to take this time to thank everyone who has taken the time to read and review my story so far. I never thought that there'd be such a large group of fans who are cool with the idea of Tallulah and Carl. Your reviews have kept me going and fueled my passion to write this story and make it as best as I can. I'm not a perfect writer and don't aim to please everyone, but I hope that at least for the vast majority that the story isn't a total let down.  
I know that there hasn't been much action really for this supposedly action packed story, but trust me, there's many more chapters to come (imagine if it were a near 3 hour movie like Spiderman 3 if you will) and so there will be plenty of action in the future. I'm just really trying to build things up a little and develop the characters enough so that when the time comes, the action feels in character.  
I tried to make this chapter as long as I could since I know it will be awhile until I update.  
The only note of borrowment is extendo-fingers which was a spawn from stretchie-arms and extendo fingers from _My Life As A Teenage Robot_.  
Until next time...Enjoy!**

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**Chapter IV**

"You can't be serious?" Aelisa looked at Tallulah in shock.

"I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to end up this way. Neither did Carl. I should have known Jones wouldn't let it go that easily."

"No, no, it's not either of your faults. You tried your best to help me, and I'm grateful to you for that. All I can do now is hope that this doesn't ruin my uncle's reputation as mayor. Maybe I should be thankful for this so called scandal."

"What do you mean?" Tallulah looked at her new friend curiously.

"Well, for one, this will maybe keep your boss from digging any deeper. If the public remains satisfied with this story about me, then maybe no one need find out about my other secret and that would really put a black mark on my uncle's name. One that he doesn't deserve."

"I see," Tallulah said thoughtfully. "Well, Jones did seem pretty satisfied with his new story so it's safe to say that he'll roll with it for as long as he can."

"Good. And besides, the story's not so bad," Aelisa said quite convincingly. "Hey, maybe it will even bring the Midnight Mirage out into the public eye some more. Maybe he'll even reveal his identity," she was growing excited.

"I suppose he might," Tallulah was a little unsure of where the conversation was heading.

"Or he may come and visit me at least one more time. I hardly got the chance to thank him. That is why I had my uncle offer the reward."

"Well, you see, that's another reason why I'm here," Tallulah started but then stopped. It suddenly made sense to her. "So it's not just a story?"

"No, I guess it's not," Aelisa answered dreamily. "The Midnight Mirage has captured my heart."

--------

"Emotionally charged, eh?" Jacoby asked as Carl was connected to a rather large and complex looking machine that took up almost all of a rather dingy, scrap heap of a room.

"Yes, at least it seemed that way."

"I suppose there's a way to test that theory," Jacoby said, thinking out loud and pressing a few buttons on the machine's keypad. "I'm going to be right back. If someone comes to the door…don't answer it. I don't want anyone to know I'm home. Lousy peddlers. Oh and if someone calls, I'm not home either okay. Hopefully I can't find what I'm looking for in this junk yard of mine," Jacoby left without another word.

Carl stood where he was for about ten minutes. As he studied the machine his thoughts strayed to Tallulah's sudden desire to find out who the Midnight Mirage was. He gave a huge sigh and suddenly the machine began to make a low beeping noise. Before he could figure out what was going on or call for Jacoby, the phone rang. Reluctant as he was, he answered it, "Jacoby's, this is Carl speaking. Jacoby isn't in at the moment, but can I help you with anything?"

At first there was only heavy breathing on the other end but finally a gruff and horrible sounding voice answered. "The only thing you can do for me is give up. You're no hero. Give up or I will destroy you part by part."

"Who is this?" Carl growled back as the machine started beeping more furiously. "I said who is this!?"

"The question is who are you!?" there was a click and Carl knew that whoever it was had hung up.

The machine was still beeping at an alarming rate, something that was driving Carl even more tension following the mysterious phone call. _If only I could make it stop_, he thought. _Maybe if I just touch that red button; ugh, but it's too far_, he thought again as he reached out his arm. Suddenly, his extend-fingers were activated making his reach even longer.

"Aha!" Jacoby suddenly appeared. He hurried over to the machine, keyed in something else and then waited for a print out which was apparently taking its sweet time in finishing. "Every time you got emotional while I was gone, this machine would beep. And then, I come back to hear the machine beeping and one of your mechanisms in action. Extendo-fingers, correct?"

"Yes," Carl said, looking at his hands.

"Try it again."

"Try what?"

"Think about touching a spot on that wall over there and see what happens."

"Okay…" Carl extended his arm in the direction of the wall and began thinking of touching it. Nothing happened. "I'm thinking, Jacoby."

"Try thinking more specific about actually using your extendo-fingers."

There was silence for a moment. "Still nothing." Carl tried again and finally groaned, "Nothing is happening!" Of course, as soon as he exclaimed it, his extendo-fingers came rushing out and towards the wall.

"I guess you were right. It seems as though your emotions are triggering your parts to work based on whatever thought you had prior to your emotional fit, so to speak."

"Can it be fixed? I mean, it doesn't seem too practical. I don't want to get angry just to get my gadgets to work."

"More than just angry, Carl," Jacoby responded as he inspected the read out now in his hands. "Based on this, your emotions were turning towards more than just anger and frustration while I was gone. By the looks of it, you had a small bit of a happy emotion; by the indication, I'd even venture to say a type of love before it suddenly spiked a little higher which could indicate fear, frustration, anxiousness before eventually spiking to quite an aggressive height."

"And how can you tell all of that," Carl asked, not sure if he enjoyed having his emotions dissected, especially since he was extremely confused by how there had been an indication of love.

"It says it right here of course," Jacoby showed him the read out which had a list of possible emotional triggers in print by every spike.

"Oh," there was a few moments of silence as Jacoby continued to study the read out intensely, scratching his head every now and then.

"So, you're the Midnight Mirage," Jacoby suddenly and casually said as he looked up from the paper and slowly turned a sideways glance toward the robot.

"What are you talking about?" Carl struggled to hide the uneasiness in his voice.

"You know exactly what I mean. It was me on the phone. I didn't mean what I said of course but I know who you are. It was a sneaky suspicion of mine since I first heard of the new hero in Todayland…but this proves it. You would have had no reason to get so angry if you didn't know the truth."

"You're right," Carl relented. "I am the so-called hero. All I did was use my robotic abilities to save the mayor's daughter and a few other people after that. I don't know why I did it. Maybe it was the stupid chip. Maybe it's what keeps giving me the urge to help them."

"Would you like me to remove the chip altogether so that you can just go back to the old one?"

"I…I don't know. If it were fixed maybe it wouldn't be this way. But it'll come down to probably one of two things if it can't be fixed. Either you take it out completely or you make me a disguise in case the urge ever returns," Carl decided it was the best way to keep his identity from becoming known, especially since Tallulah was curious and since he could just imagine the way Jones would react should he find out that his best reporter's cameraman was the Midnight Mirage. Certainly he'd twist that around until it proved to be scandalous for Tallulah just as he was doing with Aelisa.

"But why do you want me to make you a disguise? Why not let the world know who you are?" Jacoby, notion on the other hand, didn't understand Carl's.

"I'm just a robot, Jacoby, not a hero. Hero's are special. They have special powers that make them special. I just use my robotic mechanisms. There's nothing out of the ordinary about that. I'm not human. I'm not a hero," Carl sighed, proving that his feelings on the matter were more complex than Jacoby seemed to comprehend at the moment.

"And yet you continue to save people on a regular basis. It sounds to me like you can't even convince yourself of that," Jacoby argued.

"It was just a few When a person is in trouble I can't just stand by and do nothing!'

"Neither can a true hero." There was silence for a moment as Carl thought it over.

"I may not be human but I definitely know that I should do whatever I can to help my fellow…err…man, metaphorically speaking. I have the benefits of immortality, un-human strength…it's not about being a hero. It's about just doing what I can to serve the ones who created me. I feel a duty."

"You have no duty but to yourself and the ones you love. It's the heart of a hero who refuses to believe so. But I suppose every hero _does_ have an alter ego so I'll see what I can do."

"What?" Carl looked up suddenly.

"You said that you needed a disguise. And since you have this notion that because you're not human you can't be a hero, we'll just have to change that. Come back and see me tomorrow. I'll have more info on the chip, and a disguise."

--------

"So what did Jacoby have to say?" Cornelius asked as Carl joined him in the lab as he usually did after dinner.

"Oh, right…he's looking into it a little more but there's definitely something wrong with how the chip is activating."

"Oh, I see. Well, I'm sure that Jacoby will be able to fix it somehow. So how did it go with Jones today?" Cornelius asked, recalling their conversation the day before.

"I'd like to say it went exactly as we hoped, but that wasn't the case. Tallulah still has a job but…"

"But what?"

"Jones is still causing trouble," Carl answered. "I didn't tell you yesterday, but during that interview, Tallulah and I promised that we would try to help keep Jones from marketing Aelisa's, that's the mayor's daughter, name with nothing but scandal. However, Jones decided to do an entire expose on how Aelisa is in love with the Midnight Mirage."

"Did he decide that before this afternoon's news?"

"What do you mean?" Carl asked in confusion.

"Franny said that the mayor has put out a 100,000 dollar reward for anyone who can identify the Midnight Mirage."

"Oh, yes, I saw that," Carl said in a slightly annoyed voice.

"What's wrong?" Cornelius was suddenly confused.

"Nothing, I guess. It's just that Tallulah is suddenly convinced that she can get the rewards somehow."

"That's wonderful. She could use that money for her dream," Cornelius didn't understand what the problem was.

"That's her plan."

"Are you helping?"

"Actually, since she and Aelisa hit it off so well, she said she was going to ask for her help. But yeah, if she asks…I guess I might…" Carl didn't seem very convincing.

"I see, well, it's nice that Tallulah's made a new friend and one with so much power to boot," Cornelius wondered if Carl's tone was due to a slight case of jealousy. "I know that she already has a reasonable bit of power thanks to her name but it's still nice when it's not just thanks to family."

"I guess so," Carl thought about it for a moment but wasn't sure what his final opinion was on the topic just yet. "To answer your question, Jones came up with the wild story before the newscast. Why exactly?"

"I was just thinking maybe it was more than just a story if the mayor is that interested in finding this Midnight Mirage."

"Oh…well, I guess…" Carl was interrupted by the sound of the lab phone ringing.

Cornelius answered it and Tallulah came onto the screen. "Hi, Cousin Cornelius!" it was obvious that Tallulah was giddy for some reason.

"Well, hello, Tallulah! How are you? I haven't talked to you in awhile."

"I'm fine. Yes, it's been too long, I admit. But, I'm still invited for dinner Friday, right?" she asked with a smile.

"Not invited, welcome. You're welcome anytime Tallulah."

"I know, I know," she said with playful sarcasm. "Give Franny my regards. Oh and tell Laszlo that he still owes me two bucks."

"He'll get a kick out of that, that's for sure," Cornelius smiled at how he knew Laszlo would respond to that.

"Hey, Carl!" Tallulah spotted Carl in the background.

"Hey, Lula," Carl greeted her with the nickname that only he really used, although some of the others in the family like Laszlo called her Lula to sometimes. He was somewhat confused by her anxious greeting; it was almost as though she hadn't seen him for a long time either.

"I was actually calling to talk to you," Tallulah said to the robot.

"Okay…" Carl was still confused as he looked at Cornelius, who was equally curious about what Tallulah had to say that was so important that she couldn't wait until the next morning.

"I guess, I'll give you some time to talk if you'd like," Cornelius said politely, trying to hide a mixed sense of curiosity and slight suspicion.

"Thanks, cousin," Tallulah was grateful for some privacy and waited for Cornelius to leave before starting the conversation. "Okay, so I know this is really out of the ordinary, but I had to tell you something important. First, Aelisa said that she'd love for me to be the one to get the reward and that she'll do anything she can to help."

"That's…uh…that's wonderful," Carl was suddenly worried. What would Tallulah think if she ever found out that he was the Midnight Mirage? She might think he was nothing but a fraud. On the other hand, if he told her and let her turn him in, maybe she would still get the reward and then he'd be like a hero to her. _Do I want to be a hero in her eyes?_ He didn't even want to think about it right now. Then again, what if Aelisa thought that they were both frauds?

"Hello! Earth to Carl…" Tallulah was concerned by the sudden silence. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that. I was just thinking about something," Carl wasn't really lying, but he still didn't like what he had been thinking about.

"So, also, I wanted to let you know that we have the day off tomorrow."

"Since when does Jones give days off?"

"When Aelisa calls and demands it because she wants to take me to all the hottest fashion spots in the city. I told her about my fashion dream and so she wants me to meet some people she knows in the business!!"

"Really!? That's amazing! So if she gets you in, you won't need the 100,000 dollar reward anyways."

"Well, not for that I guess, but I could still use it to help. Oh, Carl I'm just so excited and I just couldn't wait to tell y…" she stopped. She had been jumping up and down and had almost squealed like a schoolgirl. She was shocked at how bubbly her voice had sounded when she had started to say that she wanted to tell Carl. He had been the first person she'd wanted to tell, but that was to be expected…right? After all, he was her best friend.

"Are you okay?" Carl asked after another round of silence.

"Yeah…I was just…thinking."

"Oh. Well, I'm really happy for you, Tallulah," Carl said genuinely.

"Thanks. And before I forget, Aelisa invited us both to dinner tomorrow night."

"Well, I'm supposed to see Jacoby…"

"You could see him during the day and then meet us at the restaurant at 7:00. It wouldn't be the same without you. After all, we're all friends."

"I guess I could come. I'll just need to know where."

"At Chez Romero."

"Snazzy enough?" Carl joked.

"Yeah, I know. But she's hoping that the Midnight Mirage will show up. Someone said that they thought he dines there."

"And why would they think that?" Carl sort of chuckled at the idea, but not loud enough to make Tallulah get any ideas.

"I thought that same exact thing! But Aelisa said it makes sense since she's absolutely sold on the idea that he's some well to do person who wasn't satisfied with money and so now is doing all he can to better the world. Oh and it turns out that she really is smitten with him! But you didn't hear that from me, although I'm sure that'd you'd find out anyways tomorrow," Tallulah was going on and on without hardly a single breath.

"What!? She's _smitten_ with him?" Carl asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah, strange isn't it. Jones may be a jerk but he was obviously right when he said he heard infatuation in her voice. The crazy thing is, she keeps going on and on about the Midnight Mirage that before you know it, I'll be smitten with him," Tallulah said, but it sounded as if she were only half joking.

"You?!" This startled Carl even more.

"Relax, Carl. I don't fall head over heels for guys I've never even met. I mean, now what kind of girl would that make me if I did."

"That's good…" Carl felt himself growing more and more confused by the moment as the conversation dragged on. When he finally hung up with Tallulah, he turned from the screen and let out a deep sigh. "Come on, Carl. Don't let this get more complicated than it has to be. No one needs to find out who you are. No one needs to find out you're the Midnight Mirage. Tallulah will still get into fashion, the mayor will eventually do away with the reward offer, and no one will get hurt." He sighed again, "Now I just have to convince myself that it's true."


	6. Chapter 5

**Author Note**

Phew! Now that all of the holidays are good and over, I will be going back to updating this fanfiction on a weekly basis! I hope everyone hasn't lost interest... I know I haven't lost interest in writing it. On the contrary, I've had withdrawals I think!  
Again, not much action in this chapter. My apologies for leaving for a month and not having any action to show for it. BUT...the end of this chapter sets up for future action...yay...um, I mean GULP. That means I have to _write_ the action.  
My huge disclaimer in this chapter is: I have no idea about anything when it comes to the fashion world. So anything I make up is I guess how it might be in the future...  
Also, as a note, the word humdroid in this chapter is basically my own concoction (atleast I don't know of it being used anywhere else as of this moment besides another one of my fanfictions). It's basically the product of a human and android...whoo, real creative with the name right!?

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**Chapter V**

"Wow!" Tallulah couldn't believe her eyes as she stood in the largest fashion studios in the city. All around her was a hustle of women trying on different clothes and designers rushing their ideas to and fro to the head honcho. "I've never dreamed…I mean, I've always dreamed that maybe someday, but here I am actually standing…oh, it's amazing," she could barely finish any of her thoughts. 

"I know. This is where I come to get all of my latest outfits. One of the leading designers is an old friend of the family," Aelisa explained vaguely, leaving out for the moment that it was actually a relative so as not to steal Tallulah's thunder.

"You're so lucky," Tallulah said with genuine admiration.

"Hey, I just get the clothes. To actually design them, like I know you will someday, that takes more than just luck. It takes talent. And I can tell by the way you dress that you've got it."

"Oh, does she ever," the head honcho said looking Tallulah over. "The stripe, very nicely placed. The colors, bold but they do not scream look away before you go blind. And the accessories, accessorized to the max…and that is definitely the style this year. What is your name?"

"Tallulah," she answered, feeling embarrassed but not about to let her lack of confidence show.

"Ah, and what a name! Did you design this look yourself?"

"Yes, I actually made this outfit and picked accessories at a local vintage shop to match," she answered.

"Beginner designer on a budget, I like," the head honcho said. "It's cute and much better than the glamorous divas I put up with all day…no, I said no raisins!" a flunkie was shooed away. "Sorry about that. But if you put up with what I do for a living…so you have promise, Tallulah."

"And she's a Robinson," Aelisa whispered.

"Shut up! Is that true?"

"Well, yes, Cornelius Robinson is my cousin but I don't like to throw it around. I want people to know Tallulah, not Cornelius Robinson's cousin," Tallulah answered candidly.

"Ooh, a bit of a fiery one, I like it more. You just scream innocence and confidence. That could sell."

"See, what did I tell you?" Aelisa looked at her friend with a smile. Tallulah could hardly believe all that was happening so fast. She couldn't wait to tell Carl the news at dinner, but at the same time, she wasn't sure how to tell him. She almost felt afraid after he had reacted strangely over the news of the Midnight Mirage the night before.

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"You're pretty quiet today," Jacoby said as he ran another diagnostic on Carl.

"I guess I've just got a lot on my mind," Carl said with a sigh.

"Well, it's been my experience that the best way to cure that is to let it off your mind by telling someone."

"Why were robots created?" Carl finally asked.

"Well, to help the human population I suppose."

"And…when did that line get crossed?"

"Ahh, so that's it," Jacoby said knowingly. "I suppose it was when people began to like the feeling of creating a living thing with their own two hands. The god complex I guess. And then eventually, artificial intelligence grew to such an enormous capacity that it robots basically became human and were given the same rights. And then of course androids came along with robot capabilities but the built in flesh of a human."

"But we're still not human," Carl insisted.

"Maybe not in the sense of what you mean, but I say if it acts like a human, learns like human, _loves_ like a human…then it is human. What does human really mean anyway, eh?"

"Loves like a human," Carl repeated the words to himself. "When did love come into the picture?"

"I guess around the same time the capabilities of all humanlike emotions came about. And scientists must have foreseen the possibility because when the law allowing the building of robots with artificial intelligence was first established, part of the law stated that the robot must be either fully male or fully female. So I suppose you could say that it was always a foregone conclusion that it would happen someday. And I guess I have every authority to advocate for it. After all, I am a humdroid," Jacoby said.

"I know. Your mother was an android."

"Yes, she was. And I was every bit as loved as anyone I know. And besides, I know dozens of people who are married to a robot or android. And believe me, it's the least of bizarre relationships I've seen through the years," Jacoby said with a slight chuckle. "Alright, I think you're good to go. Now, just to test it out. Go ahead and try to activate something with your thoughts. How about you repeat yesterday's test. Don't put too much effort or emotion in it."

Carl nodded and looked straight ahead at the wall opposite him. Within a second's time and without even a word from Carl, his arm stretched all the way over to the wall and within another second's time drew back in. "It worked!" Carl could hardly believe it.

"Haha! It worked! I knew it would. This is very good! Now you can successfully continue in your hero work and…"

"No, no, Jacoby. About that, I don't know. You see, I've been thinking…"

"Yes, you have and your primary chip now responds to those thoughts," Jacoby interrupted.

"No, you don't understand. I mean, about being a hero. I don't think I'm going to continue," Carl finally managed to get it out.

"What do you mean you don't think you're going to continue?" Jacoby asked almost dumbstruck.

"It's just that, it's becoming too complicated too fast and if it's like this now, I'd hate to see how it might be after this thing progresses, and it's just too complicated," Carl sighed. "There's this girl and she thinks she's in love with me, well, the Midnight Mirage."

"And that bothers you does it?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, I barely know her. And then there's another girl that I know better and she's bordering on infatuation at least, and I don't know how I feel about that either. All I know is it's complicated and I really don't want to hurt them, Jacoby. Especially not T-uh, the one," Carl fumbled.

"Oh, I see. I guess that would complicate things. But since you are still you, she may fall in love with you whether as a hero or not," Jacoby twisted the reasoning.

"Well, I…uh…I guess…" Carl didn't know what to think of Jacoby's words. "You just don't want to make this easy on me do you?"

"Perhaps not," Jacoby laughed. "But in the end it is your decision. So why not you just take the disguise I made for you just in case. When the time comes for you to decide, you'll know what to do."

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Carl felt out of place as he sat alone at the table. The restaurant was so fancy and he felt unaccustomed to the waiters and servers and elegant decorations and equally elegant patrons that sat at tables around him. He tugged at his bow tie a little uncomfortable. "I don't belong h…" he stopped mid-sentence as Tallulah and Aelisa were led over by the Maître' D, and his jaw dropped just a little.

Aelisa laughed slightly. "Hey, I think Carl approves," she said with a smile.

Tallulah smiled eagerly, "Do you really like it?" She spun a little, showing off the full design of the beautiful blue dress that somehow brightened her fiery orange hair and cerulean blue eyes.

"Wow…I mean, yeah, I do," Carl realized that he was staring and looked away quickly as Tallulah took a seat.

"I made it myself just today!" Tallulah said excitedly.

"Really? Well, I don't know anything about fashion, but if I did, I'd give you your own fashion line in a heartbeat," Carl boldly remarked.

"And he says he doesn't know anything about fashion," Aelisa laughed to herself and looked at Tallulah with a smile as she blushed a little. "Are you going to tell him? Or do I have to?" she urged her friend.

"He wouldn't be interested," Tallulah kept her eyes staring down at her empty salad plate. She wasn't usually shy, especially around Carl, but for some reason she was tonight.

"You know that's not true," Carl defended, his curiosity sparked. "I want to hear the big news!"

"Okay," Tallulah gave in with a smile. "Apparently Isik De Paul thought the same thing. He doesn't need any new in house designers for his company, De Paul Designs…"

"Which is like the pantheon of design companies!" Aelisa interjected excitedly. "De Paul's fashion line is already one of the highest grossing design companies in the world. But in addition to that, he outsources other major lines such as my second cousin's fashion line, Sara Lu and Sara Lu for girls!"

"Oh my goodness, you're related to Sara Lu? That's amazing!" Tallulah exclaimed.

"She's in London introducing her Sara Lu for girls line over there finally, but when she gets back I'll introduce her. She's really not too bad if she thinks you've got talent. Otherwise, admittedly, she can be a complete fashion snob," Aelisa said and then realized that Carl was staring at both of them blankly. "How rude of me for interrupting. I bet Carl is on the edge of his seat wanting to hear the rest!"

"Oh, sorry, Carl," Tallulah also apologized. "So as I was saying, De Paul doesn't need any new in house designers, which sometimes can lead to possibly becoming one of his outsource designers like Aelisa was mentioning, but he_ is_ looking for an on-call designer!" Both she and Aelisa squealed simultaneously but stopped when they realized Carl was still staring blankly.

"What's wrong, Carl? Aren't you happy for me?" Tallulah asked him.

"Am I supposed to be happy?" Carl arched one of his robotic eyebrows and looked back and forth between the two ladies curiously.

"Oh…" Tallulah realized the problem. "Even robot guys are still guys," she giggled and Aelisa caught on finally to what she meant. "You see, an on-call designer is basically someone De Paul calls when he needs fresh inspiration, has no in-house designers on hand for whatever reason, takes on a project that requires more designers, etc. And usually when a spot for an in-house designer becomes available, he looks at his on-call designers to take their place first!"

"And you get paid for being an on-call designer?" Carl asked.

"Typical guy," Aelisa rolled her eyes, grinning to herself at the same time.

"Not as much as an in-house designer and definitely not as much as the famous outsource designers," Tallulah admitted. "But yes, it pays, and definitely more than Jones is paying! The only problem is that I couldn't quit my job at Expose because jobs can be few and far between as an on-call designer, so I'd have to do it as a second job. But he did already offer it to me, and that's the main thing. He told me to give him an answer tomorrow morning. What do you think Carl? I'm seriously thinking about saying yes, but…"

"_Thinking_?" Carl finally showed emotion towards the discussion. "This has always been your dream, Lula! This could be the break you've been waiting for. What's to think about?"

"So you think I should do it?!" Tallulah asked excitedly, always happy to have Carl's opinion on anything.

"Of course I do! You won't get that opportunity if you just stick with Expose trying to scrounge up a living," Carl paused for a second. "And that means you don't have to worry about chasing down the Midnight Mirage," he suggested in a non-implicative tone.

"I suppose that's true," Tallulah bit her lip apprehensively. "Still 100,000 dollars…"

"And besides the money," Aelisa was quick to protest the suggestion, "there's the fact that it's our civic duty to find him!"

"Oh please," Tallulah looked at her friend playfully, knowing the truth.

"Okay, okay," Aelisa smiled guiltily. "So that's not the only reason why I'd like to find him. And we did have an agreement," Aelisa pouted a little bit.

"That's true," Tallulah admitted. "She's got a point, Carl. I did say that she could have him."

"What if he doesn't want to, uh, be had?" Carl asked weakly, trying to hide a gulp.

Aelisa only laughed. "I know he'll love me. I just know."

Carl felt immediately uncomfortable and wished that the subject could be changed to something different. "So, how long does it take to get a salad around here?" he chuckled nervously.

"At this hour, ha, you can never tell," Aelisa answered. "So, Carl, you should know you were somewhat the inspiration for Tallulah. I asked her what she would call her design label when she accepts the job and she wasn't sure so I asked her if she had any nicknames and she said that you call her Lula."

"Oh, Aelisa, do we have to keep going on about that?" Tallulah could the reluctant feeling she had felt earlier in telling Carl the news.

"Of course, you deserve the attention. Anyways, she's going to use the name Lula as her fashion name," Aelisa finished.

"Simply Lula?" Carl asked. "Nothing else?"

"Yes…wait…" Aelisa turned and looked at Tallulah with a smile. "Tallulah, did you hear the ring of that?"

"Simply Lula," Tallulah was already repeating to herself over and over, meaning she indeed had. "Oh, Carl, I love it!" she finally exclaimed.

"Love what? Your nickname? You said you liked it years ago remember?" Carl was once again confused.

"No silly, Simply Lula! That will be my design label. It's perfect! Oh, Carl, I love how you can be so smart without even trying," she cheered, not even noticing that she had grabbed his hand as she had said it. When the moment of inspiration had ended, she realized her action and quickly let go, clearing her throat and taking a sip of water. "It really is a wonderful design name, I think," Tallulah repeated, this time more calmly.

"Definitely inspired, I agree," Aelisa nodded, eyeing her two new friends suspiciously. "So, you obviously work well together. How long have you known each other? I only thought that you were her cameraman, Carl. But the way you talk, you've been friends for a long time," Aelisa hadn't been too curious about their relationship outside of simple pieces of fact that are picked up after talking about things here and there, but now she was more curious to learn just exactly how the two were friends to begin with.

"Oh, well, no, you see, I've definitely known Tallulah longer than that," Carl answered feebly.

"Ever since I was 15 or so," Tallulah added.

"15! That's practically a lifetime! Anything more than five years is amazing," Aelisa said in awe. "Of course, that could just be because I've always lived a hushed life, afraid to get close to anyone because of my, well, secret. I felt like if anyone found out, my uncle and aunt wouldn't want me. Or I'd shame the family name or something."

"You know that's not true," Tallulah responded.

"I know that now that I'm older, but wow, that long? So no wonder the two of you seem so close," Aelisa's suspicion was quieted for the time being, giving their long time friendship the benefit of the doubt.

"Actually, Aelisa," Tallulah smiled before continuing, "I used to be the same as you. I felt like I couldn't have any real friends because once they knew my mother was a puppet, well, then all bets were off. I was just the freaky girl who was a laughing stock. No one could want to be my friend. But that changed when I met Carl. It's like as soon as I met him, I knew he meant it when he'd say he'd be my friend. I just trusted him completely," she smiled at Carl as she finished.

"That's beautiful. Well, Carl, sounds like you're one awesome guy," Aelisa saw the robot differently. "I think I'm jealous now that I couldn't have been a Robinson. It would have been wonderful to have had you around when I was younger."

"I'm around now," Carl smiled graciously, feeling sorry for Aelisa. It was clear that despite the fact that she seemingly had everything, she still didn't have much, at least she didn't have much that she realized she had.

"So am I," Tallulah added, suddenly curious once again about why Carl was so genuinely nice to Aelisa. Of course, she immediately chided herself and reminded herself that Carl was genuinely nice with anyone unless they crossed him and gave him good enough reason to be angry.

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"Have you found the girl yet!?" a shrill voice came through an ear receiver as a mysterious figure stood watching as Carl, Tallulah and Aelisa left the restaurant.

"There are two women there. How do I know which one is which?" the other asked quietly.

"Which one looks like me, you idiot!?"

"Well, uh…I," the one stared long and hard at the both, afraid to tell the angry voice on the other end of the receiver that there was no way of telling because of the dark and the distance.

"Get on with it, you fool! One has red hair and the other has brown. That's all I can tell," the answer finally came with a gulp followed by silence.

"Which one looks more fashionably dressed?"

"And how am _I_ supposed to know that exactly?"

"You will know or I will send my men to find you," the voice growled. "And I guarantee you will not live long after that!"

"Oh, I, it was a, uh, hypothetical question…the one with red hair. She, uh, looks more fashionably dressed. At least that's how I would guess from here."

"Then the red head will be our target. Follow her Higgins and _don't_ report back to me until you know her every move. I need to know everything I can about her before I make my strike. You have two days!"

"But you just said…"

"Two days!!" The receiver went dead on the other end.

"Find out everything you can, Higgins. You've only got two days to do so, Higgins. One of these days…where'd she go?!" Higgins sighed and trudged in the direction he last saw the three going. "I really should have listened to my mum and got a respectable job."


	7. Chapter 6

**Author Note**

This is a very short chapter, with not much to speak for. Basically I was getting really tired of the long and not so exciting monologues with Jacoby so...all I'll say is sidekick time! There were lots of "auditions" but only one character from the MTR universe had the ability to make the transition over to the Artificial Romance universe...

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**Chapter VI**

"Another day off, Carl?" Cornelius hadn't expected to see the robot still hanging around the house so was shocked when he passed him in the foyer.

"Pretty much, chief. The only story Jones wants us working on right now is the one with Aelisa. So as long as Tallulah's with Aelisa, then the boss is happy," Carl explained.

"I bet you're pretty happy too, then," Cornelius assumed with a laugh.

"It is nice to take a breather. Of course, I don't really know what to do with myself now that I've got the free time. I've already taken care of what I needed to with Jacoby."

"How'd that go?"

"It was pretty interesting," Carl said, not revealing the reason what he meant as he thought of his conversation the day before. "But everything's been straightened out with the chip now, so I'm as good as new again."

"Well, that's good to hear. Say, I forgot to say this at breakfast, but after the news you gave us last night about Tallulah and the fashion job, we decided that when she comes to dinner on Friday, it'll be a surprise celebration dinner," Cornelius divulged the family's plans.

"She'll appreciate that. I think she could really use everyone's encouragement right now. Honestly, I think she wants to come back home but is maybe afraid that she's ruined that chance and now she's just trying to be strong," Carl said with a sigh. "Of course I'm just speculating based on a few things she said to Aelisa about family and friends and the tone in her voice. It might not be true."

"If anyone would know her best, it would be you, Carl," Cornelius assured. "Whatever the case, we'll make sure she knows how happy we are for her newest success."

"Sounds good," Carl nodded. "I think I'll go find Wilbur. I haven't had much free time to talk to him for a long time now, so I think I'll bug him today." Carl and Wilbur had been close before he had chosen to keep an eye on Tallulah as she pursued her independence.

Cornelius chuckled a little as he thought about his son. "Best of luck there. Now that he's a teenager…"

"He's just like he was when he was younger?"

"Yeah, basically, only with the added stubbornness of being a teenager," Cornelius laughed again as he headed towards the door, on his way to Robinson Industries. "Enjoy your day off, Carl. Oh, and let Wilbur know that I meant it when I told him to clean out the basement a little."

"I'm sure he'll love that," Carl snickered to himself, and went in search of the thirteen year old.

"Hey, Carl!" Wilbur said in amazement when Carl found him playing a game of chargeball in his room. "Why aren't you out with the ball and chain?" he asked, not breaking focus from what he was already doing.

"Uh, Wilbur? Who exactly are you referring to?" Carl asked.

"As if you didn't know," Wilbur laughed as he made the game winning score.

"Actually, I really don't," Carl replied insistently.

"Come on, Carl," Wilbur took off his charge glove and threw it aside, "don't play dumb. We both know exactly who I'm talking about…the person you follow around like a sick puppy dog."

"A sick puppy dog!? I do not follow Tallulah around like a sick puppy dog!" Carl defended.

"Then how did you know that I was referring to Tallulah?"

"Well, I, uh, you know, I assumed and, uh…" Carl couldn't make up an excuse quick enough.

"Don't bother fumbling for an answer. After all, this has been coming since as far back as I can remember," Wilbur looked at his friend, almost trying to hide a smug grin since he was certain he was right.

"Little buddy, what are you trying to imply by that?" Carl looked at his inventor's son incredulously.

"You know," Wilbur wiggled his eyebrows as he said it. "Anyone who thinks that you and Tallulah are just friends are either blind or haven't known you long enough."

"So it's obvious is it?" Carl put his hands on his hips in annoyance and Wilbur nodded in response. "Well, then, if it's so obvious then how come me and Tallulah don't know a thing about it? Huh?"

"Duh, Carl. Because you and Tallulah fall under the blind category. Everyone knows that the two parties in question are blind to the matter at hand until the right moment presents itself," Wilbur replied, as if it were the most common knowledge in the world.

"You've been watching chick flicks with your mom again haven't you?"

"No I haven't!" Wilbur defended but not convincingly. "And don't try to change the subject. It's only more proof that you're in denial."

"Listen, Wilbur, I didn't come in here to be badgered about my so-called love life. All I wanted was to spend a nice day off with my favorite little buddy. But, hey, if you'd rather make up wild stories with that imagination of yours, be my guest. But you're going to have to find a different victim," Carl left the room and headed for his own. As he entered, he sighed. He knew he couldn't admit to Wilbur that he was on the right track. Carl hadn't relented to the possibility that he was in love with Tallulah, but he couldn't deny that he did feel some new attraction towards her, and that the thought had entered his mind numerous times, especially in recent days.

He walked over to his bed and sat down. He then bent down and pulled a bag from underneath the bed. He opened it and pulled out the top portion of the disguise that Jacoby had made for him should he continue with his moonlighting hero work. "Hey, Carl, I…what's that!?" Wilbur startled Carl and the robot, becoming all thumbs, struggled to hide the disguise but it was obviously too late. Wilbur's curiosity had already been sparked. "Seriously, Carl, what are you trying to hide? You killed someone didn't you!? And now you're hiding the body in that bag!" Carl just stared at the 13 year old blankly. "Yeah, I guess that doesn't make too much sense. Come on, you can tell me. I can keep a secret, honest."

"I guess that's true," Carl thought out loud. Wilbur couldn't keep a promise for anything in the world but he _could_ keep a secret. After all, his status-either grounded or ungrounded-usually depended on his ability to keep secrets from his parents. Of course, that didn't always turn out too well in the long run either. Carl sighed, hesitant in sharing.

"You know I'm not going to let up until you give in, so you might as well save yourself the long hard fight," Wilbur was definitely persistent.

"Okay, you win," Carl knew that it would be best to tell him now and spare the chances of him weaseling it out of him by other means. "But what I'm going to tell you, I need your word that you won't repeat to anyone. Only Jacoby knows."

"Knows what already?"

"I'm the Midnight Mirage," Carl said dramatically, waiting for the response from Wilbur.

The response came when Wilbur began laughing hysterically. "Wow, Carl, since when did you become so funny? That's a good one…you, the Midnight Mirage. Oh, I'm going to be laughing for days."

"Wilbur, I'm not joking. I really am," he pulled out the disguise and showed it to him. "Look, see, this is my disguise so no one can figure out my identity. Jacoby made it for me to use…if I choose to that is. It's true, Wilbur. I saved Aelisa Stevenson from the attacking robot the day me and Lula were at the rally. If you don't believe me, I can upload my memories in the lab and prove it to you."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…you're serious?" Wilbur still didn't want to believe him. "You mean you're actually Todayland's new superhero?" Carl nodded. "I guess it could make sense, I mean, after all, you having all of your robotic abilities and whatnot. But, that's still a doozy. I never would have guessed it. So, why don't you just turn yourself in and get that huge reward and all the fame."

"Because, I don't want to be a hero!" Carl exclaimed in hushed tone so that no one else in the house would hear him.

"Well, don't you think you should have thought about that before saving the mayor's daughter," Wilbur pointed as he made his accusation. "And what about the other people who were reportedly saved by the Midnight Mirage? Why'd you save them?"

"Look, I already gave this whole spiel to Jacoby. Short and sweet, I'm not a hero. I was just acting on instincts or something of that nature…maybe a side effect from my new primary chip. Whatever the reason, it doesn't mean I'm going to go on being the Midnight Mirage or any other super hero. I'm just Carl," he explained with a deep sigh.

"Okay, you say you're 'just Carl' and nothing else. But if that's the case, then why are you hiding your disguise? Why don't you just throw it away? I mean, you obviously don't need it," Wilbur challenged slyly.

"I…I don't know that I won't need it _ever_…" Carl said timidly.

"Aha! So that's how it is. You know you can't give up hero work and you just don't want to admit it. You obviously enjoy the rush, the thrill, the beautiful damsels in distress," Wilbur added the last part mostly based on his own teenage hormones.

"Beautiful what?" Carl stared in disbelief. "Okay, look, you've got a point. I _am_ confused…happy? I don't know what I want. All I know is that it's complicated. I want to do what I'm supposed to do, but there are a lot of reasons why I don't want to do that if it means continuing as the Midnight Mirage. I don't expect you to understand, Wilbur. But in the meantime, I'm keeping the disguise with me because Jacoby said that I would know when the time is right."

"Hey, he's right! And here I thought he was just some stuffy old man who…not the point," Wilbur stopped himself when he saw Carl's glare. "And I do understand actually. I've seen enough movies to get where you're coming from. It's a dilemma every super hero has to face."

"It is?" Carl asked, not sure if even his powerful data processor could keep up with Wilbur.

"Of course, and do you know what helps the hero in his time of need?" Wilbur posed the question deliberately, his teenage mind scheming and racing with thoughts about how he could twist this new circumstance to his benefit. Carl shook his head, not knowing what was hatching in the recesses of Wilbur's head. "A sidekick!"

"A sidekick?"

"Yes, a sidekick. Someone who can help with backup, information reconnaissance, charm and wit if you will," Wilbur said puffing his chest out egotistically.

"And I'm guessing that you want the job?" It didn't take too long to note the gleam in Wilbur's eye and figure out just exactly where he was going with his point.

"If you insist," Wilbur jumped at the opportunity to volunteer.

"Now, hold up. I don't think that's such a good idea. First, I never said that I was going to continue my so called hero work; masquerade is more like it. Second, there's no way you can follow me around at night without your parents eventually finding out and blowing my cover. And third, it's too dangerous anyway! I'm not going to let you get into any trouble on my account, little buddy," Carl said with genuine friendly concern.

"Oh, come on! There's ways around all of those points you made," Wilbur argued. "One, we wait to see if you continue with your 'masquerade' as you called it. Two, if you do, I don't actually follow you around at night, maybe every now and then in the daytime because that would be less conspicuous, but instead we'll use means of contact that way I can know if you're ever in danger that you can't handle alone or worse. And three, the above mentioned point solves the thought of me being in any true danger. And besides, in any situation, Wilbur Robinson never fails."

"Wilbur Robinson never fails alright. He never fails to annoy his robot friend, that's for sure. Wait! What did you mean by _or worse_?" Carl asked in a worried tone.

"Abduction, being held prisoner at a villain's lair, being forced to give up your life to save someone although as soon as you're dead there's no one to make the villain keep his promise. You know, the usual," Wilbur answered calmly.

"Oh, is that all?" Carl gulped. "I think we just solved issue number one."

"Don't be such a baby, Carl," Wilbur shook his head. "I can already see who's going to be the real brains of this duo…and to think I'm willing to let you get all of the numero uno glory. What was I thinking?"

"No…" Carl grabbed the top part of his disguise and studied it. "What am _I_ thinking?"

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**A/N Continued... **Alright, so I didn't want to give away who the character was, so here's the rest of my a/n. I tried to keep Wilbur as close to the Wilbur we all know and love by only making a few minor alterations here and there (more which will show later) such as the idea of him and Carl not being as close as they really are in the movie because Carl's best friend is Tallulah. 


	8. Chapter 7

**Author Note**

A longer chapter than the last, but I can't update as frequently as last semester so I felt it was called for. Sorry if the chargeball game descriptions are off...it wasn't easy to write about the actual gameplay. And a quick note, I don't mean "damsel in distress" as a sexist comment nor do I mean that the character saying it thinks that. I just used it as a term for lack of better words. So, other than that, there's nothing to say. Please review. No reviews equals no reason to continue :(

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**Chapter VII**

Tallulah walked up the long driveway that led to the front door of the Robinson house. Hesitation churned inside of her and made her grow sicker and sicker to her stomach as she went. As she looked around at the green grass that looked even greener now that she had lived for almost a year in the city, memories came back to her that she thought she had buried. She remembered the first time she had set foot on the lawn, which also ended up being the first time she had met Carl. A smile inched its way to her face, but she forbade it from lingering.

Her eyes moved back to the inevitable doorway, and the two topiary trees that stood on either side, one which she remembered thinking when she was younger somewhat resembled her cousin and his hair that was at least a foot tall. It was coming nearer and nearer as she and Carl walked on. She let out a sigh within her as her limbs became stubborn and she fought the urge to turn and run. It had been too long since she had visited her family, and now she was certain that possibly guilt was the evil that made her a victim of an overwhelming fear of the faces and conversations that she would meet just beyond the door.

"I can't do this," she courageous facade finally gave way and she planted her feet, determined not to take another step unless it be in the opposite direction.

"What do you mean?" Carl turned to her suddenly with concern. He had suspected that Tallulah would be hesitant, but hadn't imagined that hesitance to take root when she was so close to clearing the hurdle.

"Carl, I _can't_. I've been horrible in not coming to visit sooner. I don't deserve to go in there," Tallulah wasn't thinking rationally as she tried to keep herself from actually crying in front of her friend. After all, Tallulah Robinson does not cry, her mind kept telling her. "I'm sure they'll be okay if I just…"

Carl couldn't stand to hear yet another excuse, especially now that she was only about twenty feet or so from finding out that her fears were ungrounded. "I can't let you leave, Lula," he said, his voice so unusually authoritative that it nearly shocked Tallulah.

"Carl, you don't understand," she sighed, wishing that he could.

"I'm your friend, right?" Carl asked in all seriousness.

"Of course you are. You're my best friend," Tallulah answered.

"Then trust me. You can go in there and have dinner just like you planned. And I promise you that everything will be alright," Carl hoped he had enough standing to convince her. Sometimes he was certain that he did and other times he doubted his ability. "Please, I know I'm not always right, but, this time I know I am."

"Carl, I…" Tallulah bit her lip and then looked at him, searching his eyes to find the hope that he had which she needed. "I trust you," she whispered. She then grabbed his hand casually with both of hers and shook it slightly as she said it again, only louder, "I trust you, Carl."

Carl felt an electric pulse go through his circuits as she said it, and suddenly found himself wishing she felt the same sensation. "Tallulah, I've never…" Even Carl wasn't sure what he was about to confess but was relieved that neither of them had the chance to find out, as Wilbur opened the door and yelled for them to come in. Carl looked down for any hint from Tallulah about what had just happened but realized her face had stayed unchanging through, what had been to him, a moment like nothing he'd ever felt before. "See and you were scared? They obviously can't wait to have you inside the house again," he said nonchalantly, glad to make a smile appear on Tallulah's face.

"Well, I'm holding you to that promise of yours, you hear me? Anything even slightly goes wrong and I'll find a way to make you pay," Tallulah joked as they started walking again. Once inside, Tallulah was bombarded by the family and she heard a round of congratulations for her new fashion job.

"I always knew you had it in you," Petunia said with her familiar screech. It wasn't like her to give out compliments willingly, but she had to admit that she was proud to hear that her daughter was finally making something of herself…at least by Petunia's overly critical standards.

"Thanks, mom," Tallulah smiled nervously. It was no secret that Tallulah's relationship with her mother was about as smooth as a rose stem.

"We're all so proud of you, Tallulah," Franny gave her a big hug. "We've always been proud of you. You have to tell us all about it over dinner."

"Speaking of dinner," Wilbur interrupted. "Let's eat already!" Everyone laughed as they followed Wilbur's advice and made their way to the dining room.

As they all made the trip, Tallulah's eyes wandered here and there, taking in everything around her. She stared at the walls, still the same mustardy color they had always been. She passed by Franny's music lounge, recalling the first time she had heard the amazing group of frogs that Franny had taught to sing. Even if it was a bit odd, she had to admit that those frogs fascinated her with their musical abilities. On the other side of the hall she saw the cannon room which belonged to Franny's older brother, Gaston. She could recall the sound of the loud blasts that occurred whenever he would shoot himself out of his cannon, for a reason she had never quite understood but respected nonetheless. She could even remember the first time Gaston had challenged herself and her brother to face his meatball cannon in what was a twisty and turny like maze to make it past the firing meatballs safely. And then there was the dining room, only a few feet away from her now. Many meals she had spent in it wishing that she could be dining somewhere else. Her imagination had wandered as far as Rome and Paris and other places. Always she would imagine herself free from the confines of the Robinson mansion. Of course, now she really was free, but she wasn't quite sure if it was everything that she had painted it to be as a girl.

"Not much has changed has it?" Carl seemed to realize some of what was going through Tallulah's head as they entered the dining room.

"No, it hasn't. I guess I'm the one who's changed," Tallulah sighed, doubt creeping into her mind but about what she couldn't grasp even if she wanted to.

"I don't know about that. You're still pretty stubborn," Carl tried to lighten her spirits before she sat down to eat. Sure enough, Tallulah gave a small laugh, which then turned into a bright smile as she walked over to her ordinary chair for the first time in, what actually felt to her, too long.

------------

"You're making a mistake, Olaf," her voice hissed un-forgivingly. It made Olaf cringe with anger. He hated that voice, no, resented it with every ounce of emotion he had. Every time he heard it, his desire to seek vengeance grew within him and this time was no different.

"How dare you say I'm making a mistake," he growled. "The only mistake I ever made was trusting the likes of you or any of your kind." He brought his fist down on the table so hard that the table snapped in half from the strength of the muscles connected to the fist. He turned and paced, seething as he did. "Where is Higgins!?" Olaf's voice rumbled so loud that anyone of his men could hear. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted that half-witted twit. Just another reason why your kind is so disgusting and repulsive to me. You're all undependable, two timers. He's had plenty of time to find out what I need to know. If he dares show his face around here, so help me, I'll…"

"Uh…sorry t-to delay you, your Excellency, but I was detained by Star Command and you know how difficult they can be," Higgins nervously appeared, having overheard his boss's threat. "I was just on my way to tell you something vital."

"Then spit it out, you bumbling idiot," Olaf snapped. He was losing patience with Higgins by the second. One more idiot stunt and he would feel compelled to do away with him for good.

"The girl will be alone tonight. Walking home I would imagine," Higgins started timidly. "You see, I've gathered that she is spending her dinner hour with her family. You should see their mansion…"

"Get on with it!!"

"Right, well, after dinner, I don't imagine anyone would take her all the way back to her home. It is a bit of a distance. Yet, she almost never takes a taxi, so there's a fair chance she'll be walking all alone," he explained in as much detail as he could think of. To him it sounded like a brilliant observation, but Olaf wasn't as impressed.

"A fair chance, you say?" Olaf asked in mock awe, but it didn't take long for the growl to return to his throat. "I let you come in here past schedule and all you can give me is a fair chance!? Higgins, this is your lucky day."

"It…is?" Higgins gulped, stuttering as he asked.

"It is, Higgins, it is. Because I don't have time to make preparations for your public end. GUARDS! Imprison him until I give further orders. And while you're at it, imprison _her_." The guards immediately followed orders and grabbed Higgins and the woman who had been with Olaf. They began dragging the two away, Olaf watching as they did. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to see to it that a young lady doesn't make a journey at night all by herself," Olaf laughed villainously. "Who knows what dangerous things are waiting to happen."

------------

Tallulah laughed along with the others as she finished playing a game of Chargeball against her brother Laszlo. "That's not fair," he complained. "She cheated," he pointed with an accusative finger.

"Maybe if you'd take your goggles off, you'd see better, Lasz," Tallulah teased.

"Alright," Cornelius stepped in, still laughing. "Tallulah moves on to the next round of the tournament. Do you want a double? Or let someone take on the other challenger to see which of those two you'd play?"

"I'm on fire, Cornelius," Tallulah said excitedly, realizing how much fun she was having. "I'll take on the next competitor gladly."

"Alright, let's see here," Cornelius looked down at his clipboard. "Looks like that'd be you, Carl." He turned and motioned to the robot.

"Oooooh," Wilbur started but was nudged by Franny but it didn't stop him and Laszlo from sharing a mischievous chuckle between them.

"Hey, no fair, I can't beat my cameraman," Tallulah said jokingly. "He might turn into a sore loser and only capture my bad side."

"And who says you're going to beat me?" Carl asked defiantly as his hand turned into a charge glove.

"Because you've only beat me at this game once, and I'm still certain you cheated," Tallulah answered. "Now enough talk. Get ready to lose."

"Why are you talking to yourself?" Carl teased, insinuating that he would be the winner this time.

"Why don't those two just face the music already," Wilbur whispered to Laszlo as Tallulah and Carl began battling it out.

"I know," Laszlo shook his head. "I bet Carl doesn't even think she has a bad side."

"Ooh, good point," Wilbur said before turning his attention back towards the two when Carl made the first goal.

"What was that about losing?" Carl gloated, but it didn't last. Tallulah flew through the next round with ease, taking out every one of Carl's blocks and then scoring so that they were now tied.

"What was that about winning?" Tallulah echoed. They both worked hard to make the final score. Carl used the freeze boost whenever he could manage one, which would cause Tallulah's charge glove to temporarily not work and Tallulah was sure to pick up the boost that would allow her to throw three chargeballs at once whenever the boost became available. "I thought you promised I'd enjoy the evening," Tallulah attempted at throwing Carl off guard.

"Not going to happen, Lula. This game is mine, promise or no promise," Carl answered determinedly. However, he couldn't help but find himself mesmerized by the sight of Tallulah playing with all the skill she had. He quickly cleared the thought from his head and continued working on the final few blocks.

Both moved at a feverish pace until three blocks left, two blocks left, one block left…both shot a scoring chargeball into the others' goal at the same time! There were "wow's" and cheers from the rest of the family. "No way! That was the sweetest game ever!" Wilbur exclaimed. "Even if it wasn't played by me."

"I guess it calls for a rematch," Cornelius said as he scratched his head a little at the odds of such a play actually happening.

Tallulah looked at them all with a smile, but then looked out the window at the darkening sky. "It's getting late…" she let her sentence trail.

"Of course, we understand," Cornelius nodded. "How about I save this tournament sheet and we'll pick up again the next time you come," he offered.

"That would be great!" Tallulah said with more enthusiasm than she would have expected at the start of the evening. But now she was feeling right at home with her large family.

"Just make sure you don't stay away too long this time," Franny said as she hugged her cousin-in-law.

"I most definitely won't," Tallulah knew it wasn't a lie. "Tonight was wonderful. It was my mistake for staying gone as long as I did."

"It's okay, sweetie," Franny said with a smile. "You're just out there doing what you feel is right. It would be wrong for us to ask you to do otherwise. Things'll be fine just as long as you know what's right for you."

"Thanks, Franny," Tallulah said gratefully. She had to admit that she missed her cousin's wife's loving advice. She had always been there for her when she had been too afraid to go to her own mother. Tallulah said her good-byes to the rest of the family before making her way to the door, followed only by Carl, who had plans of walking her home. "I'm glad I can always trust you, Carl," Tallulah said, turning to face the robot. "You always seem to know what's best."

"What can I say, I…" Carl was cut short when Tallulah leaned in and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. "I, uh, I…I don't think you should walk all the way home by yourself," he fumbled for words, and hoped that his comment was too cavalier after that kind of gesture.

Tallulah backed away slowly. A slightly rosy tint to her cheeks proved that she felt a little embarrassed by her action. She gulped, her eyes down for a moment, before looking back at the robot. "Don't worry about me. I'll make it home fine like I always do when you're not around." She wasn't sure if she could endure an entire trip into the city with the robot so soon after she had kissed him, even if she was certain it had only been out of friendliness.

"Well, okay, but you call us to let us know you made it home safe okay?" Carl was slightly astonished by the sudden concern in his voice. He had always cared about Tallulah being safe, sure, but this felt like it was coming from somewhere else inside of him.

"Yes, sir," Tallulah teased. "Yeesh, you sound like my dad or something." She laughed a small laugh which turned into a bright smile. "But it's glad to know someone cares. Goodnight, Carl." She said her farewell before finally leaving into the night.

Carl sighed after the door was closed. He kept trying to tell himself that his feelings of fondness weren't growing stronger as he made his way to his room. "Hello! Why are _you_ still here?" Wilbur's voice was heard from the doorway behind him.

"What now, little buddy?" Carl turned and looked at him questioningly. He wasn't sure if he was in the mood for Wilbur's antics.

"I just thought that you'd be with Tallulah making sure she's okay," Wilbur answered.

"She'll be fine, Wilbur. Don't worry. She knows how to take care of herself," Carl's voice hitched as he said it.

"Yeah, that didn't sound too convincing to me. But whatever. If you'd rather not go protect your precious Lula, then maybe you'd rather tell me about that little moment outside earlier. I thought I was going to have to shield my eyes!" Wilbur said and began laughing as he recalled it.

"Now what are you talking about? Seriously, Wilbur, sometimes I just can't keep up with you." Of course, Carl knew exactly what the 13 year old meant.

"I'm talking about that stop in the middle of the drive and look lovingly into each other's eyes moment," Wilbur replied teasingly.

"We were just talking about something. I just had to convince her that coming to dinner was a good idea. She was having a confidence issue, that's all," Carl said, sure he wasn't really lying about what had happened.

"Right, and I can just imagine how that went down," Wilbur rolled his eyes. He then changed his voice to make it a little higher, "Oh, I can't go in there without a big, strong robot to help me." He then changed his voice to sound deeper, "That's why you have me. Here, take my hand." His voice then went higher again, "Oh, thank you. But first, let's stare into each other's eyes until we…"

"Enough already! You're making me feel very uncomfortable, did you know that? Is that what you really think we say when we're alone? Honestly," Carl shook his head. "You know what? Maybe I _would_ rather go keep an eye on Tallulah."

"What, you're just going to follow her?" Wilbur asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm a robot remember? I can follow her without her thinking I don't trust her," Carl started to head towards his door.

"Wait, Carl!" The robot turned to see what Wilbur wanted and before he could blink, saw Wilbur tossing him his disguise. He caught it and then looked at Wilbur for an explanation. "Just in case." Carl sighed and shook his head. He opened the front compartment in his chest and placed it inside before turning again to leave.

------------

Tallulah walked alone; at least, she hoped she was alone. Unfortunately, she couldn't keep herself from turning her head this way and that as she went. She had walked home in the dark at least a million times, but tonight she had an eerie feeling in the pit of her stomach that she couldn't shake. She was suddenly wishing that she had said yes to Carl's offer to come along. Suddenly, she heard a sound as she passed an ally way. She turned on her heels to see what it was, gasping as she did, but was relieved to see a cat scurry out from behind a dumpster. "Relax, Tallulah."

"Yes, relax," came a sinister voice. Tallulah turned to see a dark figure. She was about to scream but in the blink of an eye he had moved behind her again and had his hand over her mouth. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." He dragged her into the ally before slamming her against a building, his hand now pinning her to the wall by her neck. "If you scream, you won't make it to see who hears you, do you got that?"

"What…what do you want," Tallulah choked out, fear and anger pulsing through her veins.

"Revenge," he hissed. "I will take over your measly planet and turn everyone of you puny humans into my slaves. Starting with you."

"Why me?" Tallulah said as she gasped for air and squirmed to break free.

"None of that," he pinned her against the wall more tightly so that she couldn't move. "You're going to cooperate, so help me, or I will get rid of you right here."

"Not on my watch!" Carl yelled as he ran to attack whoever it was that had Tallulah pinned. "Now let her go!" Carl was just about to ram the dark figure when suddenly he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving Carl there to wonder what had happened.

"You haven't seen the last of me," the voice hissed again, although he was nowhere to be seen. "I will have my revenge," the voice cried, growing fainter and fainter as it did.

Carl heard gasping and choking behind him and quickly turned to see Tallulah trying to pick herself off of the ground. He was about to yell out her name in fear when he remembered he was wearing his disguise. "Let me," he reached out and helped her stand.

"Thank you," she managed as she began to regain her breath and composure. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been here."

"Don't think about that right now," Carl didn't even want to think about it. "Are you alright, T-uh, Miss…"

"My name is Tallulah Robinson," she said, studying the figure before her, in somewhat awe of how he had rescued her. "But my friends call me Lula," she added without hesitating. Something seemed right about telling him even though she had no recollection of ever meeting him before. "You're the Midnight Mirage aren't you?"

"I guess so. At least, that's what people call me," Carl answered nervously. He realized that he needed to make sure she didn't find out it was him. "But you can call me whatever you like," he tried to sound like someone confident with himself."

"Oh, well, in that case, it's nice to meet you, Midnight," Tallulah said and held out her hand. Carl, without thinking twice, took her hand and kissed it. Tallulah knew that her friend Aelisa would just about die once she heard about this. As Carl looked back up, their eyes locked and a moment of silence went by as they stood in this same position. "It's funny but I feel like I've known you forever. Does that make any sense?"

Carl held back a gulp of panic. "I don't know really. But I do know this. Something tells me that you're the kind of girl I would like to know forever." Tallulah smiled shyly and blushed at the compliment. "Come on, I'll see to it you get home safely." Carl held out his hand.

Tallulah didn't understand why he had held it out. "I don't have to hold your hand to make it home," she felt foolish saying it.

"Don't worry, you can trust me," Carl said, still holding out his hand.

"I can trust you?" Tallulah whispered to herself. Without thinking more about it, she placed her hand in his and was surprised as he lifted her into the air. "Oh my goodness," she couldn't believe she was flying. She gave directions to her apartment, not knowing he already knew, and watched the scenery change beneath her. "That was amazing," she said as they came to the ground outside of her complex. "Thank you for everything," she said almost breathlessly.

"Believe me, it was my pleasure. And for now on, I'll be keeping an eye on you should that villain ever show his face again. Nobody hurts Lula Robinson while I'm around," Carl nodded and then flew away leaving Tallulah standing in a daze. "Thank you, Midnight," she whispered before going into the building.

Meanwhile, Carl had only gone to sit on the rooftop of the building. He was going to keep watch for a little while. "Carl, what happened? Where are you?" Wilbur's voice was heard over Carl's receiver.

Carl thought about it for a second and then answered, "You were right about beautiful damsels in distress. I'd do anything to protect her. _Anything_."


End file.
